World of Rathbone

Down the Chute

The hole is webbed off at the top, but seems clear inside. Boy does it drop a long distance into the darkness.

The chute is easily climbable as it is only 4’ wide and the surface is quite rocky (DC 15 athletics). It is too irregular for anything but a tiny creature to fly down. There are lots of rocks around the top to tie a rope to. The chute goes down 50’ and spills out along the back wall of a cave (A). When the first person starts climbing read the following:

As you descend you notice that there are small caves along the sides, some of them are completely webbed up and others are filled with little piles of bones.

Inside the first webbed up cave is a raccoon, happy to be free he will bolt out of the hole and up the chute to safety. Inside the next three holes are Halfling captives. Their names are Kip, Little Foot, and Randy. They are traders from the Halfling village and were captured a few days back. Kip has a dagger in his boot and both Little Foot and Randy have slings tied around their arms. They can be convinced to help the party if they know that they are the faerie champions and that they were sent by Hilda Highboots. They will begin by thanking the party for rescuing them, but want the party to take them up and out of the hole to escape. If questioned they will tell the party that it was large spiders that brought them to this place and webbed them in. Those spiders breathed fire on their cart with all their trade goods, they will be quite sad about that. But they are more afraid of the bigger spider that seems to come from below. If asked about a dragon spider they will say this must be the mother of all dragon spiders! If they do come along with the party, they will stay at the back and Kip will ask if someone can loan him a sling to use.

Lair of the Fire Spider

The air smells sulphurous here, broken webs cling to the falls and floor. The occasional scorch mark on the wall spells trouble for any who dare spend too long in this terrible pit.

The party climbs out at A and the big spider gets to try and detect the party. If they had a conversation in the chute, then the spider will be hiding and alert. Otherwise she is just hiding. She has babies with her, they will attack if the party moves beyond a burst 1 area centered on the chute opening. If they can’t subdue the party in three rounds the mother will come out of hiding. She could be spotted beforehand, so use her passive stealth (DC 16). 1 Fire Spider Mother (M), 1d4 each round (maximum 8 at any given time)Spiderlings will come from (S) (these stop coming when the mother is dead), and 2 Fire Spider Swarms (SW).

The mother spider has her treasure in a pile of cherished bones. It includes Arcanists glasses (AV 138), Hunting Beast +1 Hide Armour (PHB2 201), 1 potion of healing, 60gp.

Back at the Village

If you return to Hilda with proof you have killed the beast (either its head or the rescued Halflings as witnesses) then she will reward you with a pair of wavestrider boots (PHB 246) and 130gp. She will also give each party member a medallion that proves they are friends of the Halflings, all Halflings will recognize these medallions and give you a +5 reaction bonus. These can be worn without taking up an equipment slot.

After another fine meal Hilda will happily tell the champions about another adventure – the Blue Hill.

Entrance to the Cave

Even pointed in the direction it will require some tracking to find the spider cave. The party can use DC 15 nature checks (3 maximum), DC 20 history checks (1 only), and DC 20 perception checks (maximum 3). The party needs 4 successes before 3 fails to successfully locate the entrance to the cave. There will be an encounter at the cave entrance. [Add tiles to make enough of a terrain for a decent battle, I usually use a minimum of an 80' X 80' area for outdoor encounters.]

Webs seem to be everywhere! But in the midst of all that sticky mess seems to be an entrance to a cave. Could this be the cave that the vile spider lives in? Perhaps it might, because this cave has guards!

3 Ettercap guards and 6 spiderlings advance on your party. One of the ettercaps has a belt pouch with 400sp and a potion of healing (2 treasure parcels).

The Cave is Dark and Deep

Clearing away the cobwebs reveals a simple hole in the side of the rocks. Inside is dark and damp.

The fight outside has alerted the spiders inside. They will be waiting for the ettercaps to bring them fresh blood, so when the party arrives they will not be happy. Inside the cave webs as all over the place, moving more than ¼ your speed means the webs can make an entangle attack (Attack: +5 vs. Reflex. Hit: The target is immobilized (save ends)). The webs are surprisingly fire resistant, so burning them is not an option. However, if they are frozen they will shatter and lose their stickiness. Cold based spells clear out their area of effect. Apart from the two big spiders in here, there is a small amount of treasure hidden throughout and a hole that leads down into the deep. Searching this room means moving throughout it, which means potential attacks so it must be tracked. The treasure is easily found if you are in the marked squares (DC12 perception). Treasure 1: +1 Healer’s Brooch (AV. 152). Treasure 2: +1 Frost Dagger (2 treasure parcels). The occupants of the room are 2 Fire Spiders and 4 Spiderlings.

The land of Rathbone has a long and varied history. At present it is ruled by a council of Wizards located in the city of Persimé. Most of the towns and cities have mixed populations, with the exception of the dark city of Hallenmare which is ruled by a goblin warlord named Grarg Jolstmazer. The last Great War was started by a very evil zombie master named Voth who was destroyed by the famous champions of who managed to convince the oldest dragons to come and destroy this formidable foe. Ever since those times dragons have acted a little peculiar, and some seem caught in between dragon and human form – the first dragon borns. Towns and cities rebuilt, although occasionally zombies rise up to harass the people, Voth seems to have been completely vanquished. The heroes are long since gone and the land has been relatively peaceful. But sure as the rain will return, new threats are sure to fall upon the land of Rathbone. For this reason, the great Faerie Queen Jordan, has prepared her own champions. In every generation there are now those who have been marked by the faeries, given special gifts and a solemn charge to protect the land of the Faeries from any evil that might try to get in. Because there are several special places where the distance between the lands of Rathbone and the world of Faeries is thin – the Faerie champions have always lived in and protected Rathbone.

Each of you has known about the champions, as each of you has a special gift. Some of you might fly with gossamer wings, others use the dust of pixies to cause mischief, and even a few of you can take on a special form. Over your lives you have met with and talked to the faeries, pixies and sprites, who told you that one day you will be called on to be the next champions. Sometimes when you would sleep you would awaken in the Faerie world, where your dreams seemed real and filled with laughter and dance. Always you would awake from those dreams in special places called faerie groves. It seems that while you were sleeping your friends the faeries visited you all again and whisked you away to this place. As you slept, the pixies and sprites whispered in your ears, “it is time to make ready, a great evil is coming to the land, you must become the champions you were born to be.” When you awake it is in a faerie grove, deep in a forest you are unsure if you recognize. Certainly you do not recognize all of your companions either. [LIST THEM] Off in the trees you hear the giggles of the little people, but it seems that this time you are meant to get to know each other so that together you might become the Faerie Champions of Rathbone.

Activities: Have the characters come up with a bit of a story about themselves that includes their name, where they come from, and what their specialty is. To recognize the forest as Chorley Woods requires a DC 20 nature check and up to two people can assist. A DC 25 nature check will also let the character know which direction it is to get to the Halfling village in Chorley Woods. But the faeries will also give them directions once they have defeated the pesky spiders that lurk just outside the grove.

Spiders in the Trees

When the party decides to leave the grove they will be attacked by spiders. A DC 15 perception check, before leaving, will notice webbing in the trees. The big spider will be hiding, the little ones will be out of sight.

If the spider is attacked from the grove it will retreat into the forest where it can have its babies swarm the attackers. As long as the fire spider is alive 1d4 spiderlings will appear and attack the party. There will never be more than 10 spiderlings visible at any one time. Hidden spiderlings are not targetable as they hide in nooks and crannies. When the fire spider is killed the remaining spiderlings will attack one last time and try to flee.

When the spiders have been dispatched two sprites will come to talk with the party.

Sprites

Thoma and Gilles are usually happy little sprites. They will dance around re-enacting the battle with the fire spider. They will be quite proud of the champions and once they have calmed down will point the party towards the town of Dylia (Halfling). They don’t know much else, except that Jordan, queen of the Faeries, had asked them to welcome the champions and point them towards their first challenge.

Dylia

Dylia is not used to non-halflings arriving, but are usually hospitable. They will be especially hospitable if they find out they are entertaining faerie champions. The chieftess is Hilda Highboots, and yes she wears high boots (for a Halfling). She will invite the party to a meal. She will be eager to enlist the party’s help in dealing with a ‘small’ spider problem they have been having.

She will tell the party that to the west of the town there is a cave with a very nasty spider in it. If they can bring back the head of this spider she will reward them handsomely, she might even let them have one of her pairs of high boots!

This is a 4E game based on five characters. In our game we have two other dads and three younger players (two girls and a boy). The kids are around 10 years old, so attention is a problem. We aim to play an hour and a half each session, enough time for one simple combat encounter and one role playing encounter. We play every second week, and the kids really look forward to the games. I only have a couple of house rules: original Magic Missile only and chaos bolts always bounce if there is a legitimate target (that is the fun of them). I'll give some Rathbone history later, but here is the preamble:


The affairs of the world of Mellenheir are rarely of concern for the faeries in Tier Nan Og. But when great evil lurks in Mellenheir the faeries choose champions to protect them from those who would exploit their hidden land by stealing their treasures and turning faeries into slaves. Champions are chosen from a young age and given a gift from the faerie queen. This gift can be gossamer wings, dust of the pixie, or even the ability to transform into a woodland friend. The champions often seek each other out and set out to bring about good in the world by freeing the captives, defeating evil creatures, and, above all, protecting the world of faeries.

Character Creation

Each character will be created according to RPGA standards. All characters will start at first level, except when joining the game in progress in which case they will start at the level of the module being explored. Material from any of the official source books is acceptable, with the exception of the Dragon and Dungeon magazines. We will not be using the auto-hit magic missile rules (rather we will use the spell as described in the original PHB). Characters will choose one of the following free powers.

Faerie Wings Campaign Power Utility 1
You have a pair of gossamer wings which can easily be hidden under normal clothes.
At-will; Move action; Personal
Effect: If you are carrying less than 2 times you strength and your wings are exposed you gain Fly 6 (hover). If you are encumbered normal and your wings are exposed you gain the ability to jump (shift 2). Your wings cannot be covered in armour to benefit from either of these effects.


Pixie Dust Campaign Power Encounter 1
You can produce pixie dust by rubbing your fingers together; this dust sparkles and can help you perform mischief.
Encounter; Arcane, Charm; Standard action; Close blast 3
Target: One creature within blast.
Attack: Charisma vs. Will
Hit: The target cannot see or hear you until the end of your next turn.

Woodland Friendform Campaign Power Daily 1
You can take the form of a small creature and experience life from a different perspective.
Daily; Polymorph, Primal; Minor action; Personal
Effect: You change from your humanoid form to a predetermined small animal form (a single tiny animal is chosen until the end of your next turn. When you change from beast form back to your humanoid form, you can shift 1 square. While you are in beast form, you can't use attack, utility, or feat powers that lack the beast form keyword, although you can sustain such powers. The beast form is tiny size, resembles a natural beast or a fey beast, and normally doesn't change your game statistics. Your equipment becomes part of your beast form, but you drop anything you are holding, except implements you can use. You continue to gain the benefits of the equipment you wear, except a shield. You can use the properties and the powers of implements as well as magic items that you wear, but not the properties or the powers of weapons or the powers of wondrous items. While equipment is part of your beast form, it cannot be removed, and anything in a container that is part of your beast form is inaccessible.
Special: You can maintain the small animal form as a minor action.

Special Campaign Rules

Magic Missile Campaign Wizard Attack 1
You launch a silvery bolt of force at the enemy.
At-Will; Arcane, Force, Impliment; Standard action; Ranged 20
Target: One creature.
Attack: Intelligence vs. Reflex
Hit: 2d4 + Intelligence modifier force damage.
Increase damage to 4d4 + Intelligence modifier at 21st level.
Special: This power counts as a ranged basic attack. When a power allows you to make a ranged basic attack, you can use this power.

Rathbone is actually the name of a continent in the world of Mellenheir. I created it for a 2nd edition Dungeons and Dragons campaign ages ago. The original adventurers unwittingly unleashed an ancient evil wizard who has been a recurring villain for many of our adventures there. As with anything, the simple land of Rathbone grew to a whole world and has lasted through two game version transitions.

I'm running a kids game and an adult game in this world, so I thought it might be great to put some of the material up online for other folks to use, exploit, and maybe even ignore. Hey, I'm a generous guy. If you find this useful then let me know and I'll keep it coming. But for now I'm going to focus on my kids game which takes place in Rathbone proper. Their campaign is called the Faerie Champions, it is built around five characters, all of whom are specially chosen by the Faeries to protect the Faerie land from intruders by opposing the evils in the land. I'll post a bit about the structure and play of this adventure later. I'm also going to include modules. I use a lot of WotC material - such as the dungeon tiles and miniatures - to flesh things out.

Hope you enjoy the blog!